Weekly Training Tip

This week we're talking about prayer requests - and how to deal with prayer requests in your group.

Here's the video:

[vimeo 87401896 w=500 h=281]

Announcements:

*Please let your Community Group know about the announcements that matter to them.

Mission Trips

We will be going to Guatemala to work with Compassion International on July 31st to August 6th to work with a project they have there, taking care of children and doing some light construction. The dates and prices are in your bulletin.

We will also be going to Burkina Faso, Africa to work with Sheltering Wings on November 7-16 to work with an orphanage and share the gospel with some surrounding villages. The dates for that trip and prices are in your bulletin.

If you are interested in either trip, we would love to have you join us this year as we travel to other countries to tell them and show them God’s love for them.

You can email MattMashburn@WestPines.org and he will get you more information about those trips.

You can register for the trips on our website (Go to Ministries -> Missions).

Baptism

Last weekend we talked about Baptism and let you know we will be having a big celebration for Baptism on March 16th.

We would love for you to participate in that celebration, which will be after both services on that Sunday. The first way you can participate is if you haven’t been baptized since you put your faith in jesus, this is a great opportunity for you to get baptized. If you’re interested, just let us know by emailing Pastor Dan at dangossett@westpines.org.

If you would like to help with the celebration, we would love a hand with everything from getting ready that morning to helping organize during the event, all the way through picking up after. If you want to serve, just email Pastor Dan at dangossett@westpines.org.

Sermon Title: Beast Mode, Part 1: Ferocious Prayer

REMINDER: The following Topics are for your preparation purposes only and should not be shared with the group as a refresher.

Topics:

In the previous section, Jesus has revealed to us that God knows our hearts. We may think we are clean on the outside, but God sees the sinful inclinations in our hearts. In this section, Jesus uses the same concept to describe our righteousness.

He tells us to not practice our righteousness just for show. He uses three categories to describe what he means: giving, praying and fasting.

He tells us to not “sound the trumpet” when we give. He tells us to not pray using lofty words so everyone is impressed. He tells us to not mope around when we are fasting, so everyone is wowed by our sacrifice.

In the section about prayer, he trains us how to pray. We will look through His sample training prayer, starting next week. But before we move on, let’s consider one other thing he says about prayer here.

He says don’t heap up “empty phrases.” How often do we do that? We toss around phrases like “dear God” and “bless so-in-so,” and “in Jesus name…” Prayer is often at the same level to us as flossing. Something we should probably do, but it seems like such a chore. And just like when we go to the dentist, we feel guilty for not flossing, when we go to church we feel guilty for not praying more.

Surely, we cannot understand prayer. Do we possibly comprehend what we are doing? Do we know what we are uttering? When we casually say the words “Dear God,” do we understand who we are addressing? Do we tremble and thank the Almighty that we don’t die? When we indifferently ask for blessing, can we possibly grasp what the Owner of the Universe is capable of unloading on us? When we reference the Saviors name, do we realize that His words cur armies to the ground. Are we aware that He said if we ask anything in His name, we will received it?

Surely if we could even grasp even a fraction of what we had within our grasp, we would not let anything stand in our way of unleashing powerful prayers.

Beast Mode Challenge, Week 1:

Set aside time each day to pray. When will you do it?

Key Questions:

HIGH/LOW: What was the high point of your week and the low point?

ICEBREAKER: What do you think of when you hear the phrase, “Beast Mode”?

READ: Matthew 6:1-8

When are the times that the average person prays?

What makes prayer difficult?

What would it look like to give in a way that “sounds a trumpet”?

What would it look like to pray in a way that one can be seen in public?

What are typical phrases you sometimes say in prayer that you realize are empty and routine?

Why is prayer the most proactive and powerful thing we could do?

What are things we can do to remind ourselves of the power that is available to us when we pray?

BEAST MODE CHALLENGE: When is the best time of day for you to set aside for prayer?

BEAST MODE CHALLENGE: If you have already started, what has it been like for you already?